Rafael Leao‘s father, Antonio Leao, granted an interview to those at Portguese outlet Record. Here are his words:
“He grew up defending the talent he always had. He fought to make his dream come true. He worked until today and managed to make his dream come true. Simple.”
What if Leao didn’t leave Portugal, would he still have reached this level?
“No, it was not necessary to leave. Things just happen. And in his life they happened. It was not a preference to leave. It was a turbulent time, but things happened … God guided me, he was with me . Was I wrong? I did what I did. [They say]: ‘What father does he have? Poor boy, he’ll get lost !!!’ But today Rafael is where he is and no journalist has ever introduced himself to me saying: ‘What a fantastic father he has! He was about to get lost, he has a great man next to him!’. Because I was always with my son. We had the problem that we had (that I don’t want to mention), but I was always by my son’s side.”
Antonio Leao on the fine to pay to Sporting Lisbon:
“Very quickly: the problems of the courts are the lawyers and the judges who solve them. Rafael is not an abandoned child. Rafael Leão has a family. He lives on the advice of his father, mother, uncle, family. This problem of the courts is for his parents. As for the football matters, they are his. And Rafael responds on the football fields. The courts decide.”
On the renewal with AC Milan:
“The answer is: we’re working on it! We are negotiating, because Rafael Leão has a contract that expires in 2024. Until that date, we are negotiating on everything. Without Chelsea, without Barcelona, without Real Madrid, we are dealing with this.”
Does Rafael Leao intend to stay in Italy after 2024?
“He loves being in Italy. He has a predilection for the Italians, the one the Portuguese don’t have for him. He won the award for best player of the last Serie A not because he was handsome, but simply … because he is the best player.”
